PEORIA — While promoting from within has long been company policy at Caterpillar Inc., the recognition came that “outside help” would only benefit a global organization that has continued to diversify.

A Michigan native, Johnson saw plenty of change at the auto giant. Along with having a ringside seat for GM’s rise from bankruptcy, “I was able to witness the globalization of the auto industry,” she said.

“Caterpillar, of course, has been very global from the beginning,” said Johnson, now responsible for 23 facilities spread across the world that produce mining equipment.

While the mining industry is mired in a downturn that’s been a drag on Caterpillar sales, Johnson isn’t fazed.

“Bucyrus was one of the smartest acquisitions Caterpillar ever made,” she said, referring to the company’s purchase of the big Milwaukee-based mining equipment company for $8 billion in 2011.

“Unfortunately, we’re in a down cycle but mining will come back. When it does, Caterpillar has the broadest product line-up in the field,” said Johnson, who’s had to take action during the down period.

“We’ve done a lot of consolidation that’s allowed us to be more competitive in a down cycle,” she said.

The integrated operations division that Johnson oversees, the largest single division within Caterpillar, has done some dramatic downsizing — from 21,000 workers to 13,000, said Johnson.

“It’s been a huge challenge for us. But that number will go back up,” she said.

Overseeing a huge division means Johnson is traveling two weeks out of every month. “I need to be in the plants,” she said.

An upcoming itinerary includes stops in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic but “all the travel isn’t as exciting as it sounds,” said Johnson, referring to long hours and language barriers. “But our teams around the world are energized, she said.

Page 2 of 2 - Glen Barton, who served as Caterpillar’s chairman and CEO from 1999 to 2004, credited the company’s board of directors with acknowledging the importance of developing “a strong bench” of longtime employees while being open to bringing in individuals. “We want the best team possible,” he said.

Barton is an example of someone who came up through the ranks in a 43-year career at Caterpillar. Asked what his expectations were during a job interview after his graduation from the University of Missouri, Barton recalled, “I said that I could see myself being a vice president of this company.”

“Growing up in that time, you naturally thought of staying with a company all your life,” said Barton, 74.

Barton describes “a Caterpillar culture” where “a deep bench” of home-grown candidates are available to lead the company. “We’re blessed by the culture we have but we’re not going to overlook someone because they didn’t start at Caterpillar,” he said.

Craig Bouchard, the author of “The Caterpillar Way,” a book published last year that details the company’s success, has his own thoughts about the decision to go outside the company to fill senior positions.

“The benefit is realized in fresh ideas and new perspectives. The negative is a compromise of a culture that has contributed to its unusually high shareholder return over the past 20 years,” said Bouchard.

“The dilution of the ‘bleed yellow’ culture is a subtle thing. On an individual hire, it may often seem attractive to go outside. But, in my humble opinion, it’s better to grow from within,” he said.